(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis issued a letter to families on Tuesday in which he asks
for prayers for the upcoming Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
which is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family
in the context of evangelization”.
Below please find the Pope's letter
in English.
Dear families,
With this letter, I wish, as it were,
to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican
this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
which is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family
in the context of evangelization”. Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim
the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
This
important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated
men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all
of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical
suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families,
is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is
dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and
in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children;
and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray
intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers
and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly
will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family
as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due
to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together
so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment
and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges
with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.
I am writing this
letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The evangelist
Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of
Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an elderly
man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged
Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Lk 2:22-38). Simeon took him in his arms and thanked
God that he had finally “seen” salvation. Anna, despite her advanced age, found new
vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two
young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who
brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of that love
which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your
journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework,
leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support… Nevertheless,
if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus.
He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which
sustains us on our journey.
Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops
will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you
to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love.
May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of
you and help you to walk united in love and in caring for one another. I willingly
invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord.